We are the Monsters
by Iceflight398
Summary: [Rated M for gore] As Mark Twain once said, "everyone is a moon and has a dark side, which he never shows to anyone." There will always be things you do not know about someone, their dark, hidden secrets. But just how bad can those secrets be? (Based off a story my mom told me) POLL PENDING
1. Prologue

_Rated M for gore._

 _Beta'd by Eternal Fauna._

 _Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya_

* * *

 _Hola, mis amigos._ You are about to read a horrifying story that shows humanity at its worst and darkest. I would give you more warning, but that would ruin the surprise, _da_? In any case, to know this story, you must first hear this old campfire tale…

* * *

 _July 8, 2006_

 _San Diego, California_

 _Wang residence_

"This camping trip is so awesome!" Ten-year-old Yong Soo declared.

His twin brother, Hyung Soo, shook his head in exasperation. "You moron. We're only pitching a tent in the backyard. Mei will probably even get scared overnight and run back in."

"I will not!" Mei protested, a tenacious little girl at the tender age of seven.

"I'm sure she won't," Cheng said soothingly before a fight could erupt.

Though he was only eight, he was still one of the main voices of reason in the family, Kiku being the other. Kiku, though, had been growing rather distant lately, but it had been brushed off as puberty and such, as the boy was thirteen.

"We can, like, lit a campfire and tell scary stories," Li Xiang suggested, a mischievous and cheerful six year old.

" _Aiya_ , absolutely not!" Their eldest brother, Yao, yelled.

Him being the eldest at 17, he was the role model for his younger siblings, though some didn't see him as such. He would soon be going off to college, much to the distress of the twins, as they were very attached to their eldest brother.

Mei pouted. "But it'll be so fun!" She gave Yao her big cutie eyes that could melt even the coldest hearts. "Please, _ge-ge_?"

Yao's gaze softened at the sight of her. " _Aiya…_ fine..."

A cheer erupted from Mei, Li Xiang, and Yong Soo. Li Xiang, in particular, gave Yao a big hug.

Yao sighed. "The things I do for you."

Li Xiang smiled at him sweetly, with wide eyes.

Yao smiled back. "You little rugrat. Imagine what would happen if that dear smile ever disappeared off your cute little face… I wouldn't be able to bear it!"

Li Xiang giggled, and motioned for Yao to pick him up. Yao complied, though he groaned as he picked him up.

" _Aiya_ , you're getting heavier and heavier every day! My poor back, it's aching. You know, soon you'll be a teenager, getting into trouble…"

Li Xiang pouted.

Yao giggled. "But of course you wouldn't do that, would you? Because you're my good little boy, my sweet _Xiang-xiang_."

" _Nii-san_!" Kiku called, "The fire is ready. We took all the necessary precautions, I ensured it."

Yao smiled. Putting down Li Xiang, he examined the fire. "Looks safe… but did you pull up some grass from the lawn?"

Kiku looked guilty. "It was the only option. I did not wish for the yard to be set on fire."

"Very well then. But _ma-ma_ will be furious."

"C'mon!" Yong Soo yelled, "You two need to have some fun. Let's sit down and tell scary stories!"

The siblings arranged themselves into a semicircle, with Li Xiang on Yao's lap and Mei on Kiku's lap.

"Now…" Yong Soo grinned in an attempt at being creepy. It ended up looking like he was constipated. " _Aniki_ will tell the first story…"

Yao looked a bit exasperated with Yong Soo's antics, but he grudgingly agreed.

"Once upon a time, a young man came to that town from a foreign land. He had met a girl when she went on vacation to his native land. The two had fallen in love, and the young man had vowed to come to the States so that he could become wealthy and marry her.

"Unfortunately, the girl's father had already promised her to another, an older, more successful army veteran. And the girl was beautiful, so the veteran wished very much to marry her. But the girl loved the young man with all her heart.

"One day, the young man told the girl that he had found a way he could get wealthy. He said that he would be going off to South America with some acquaintances, and when he came back, they were to be married.

"Oh, how the girl rejoiced! Soon, she was to be married to the love of her life! But the young man did not return, day in and day out. The girl refused to be married to the veteran, for she loved the young man with all her heart.

"And then, bad news came on dark wings. The young man had been found lying in a hunter's pit, half of his body gone."

Mei gave a terrified squeak at this.

Yao smiled at her reassuringly, before continuing. "Everyone in the town believed that the young man had been trying to steal dead animals from the hunter's traps, and dismissed the matter quickly. The girl's father then demanded that she marry the veteran.

"But the girl refused to believe that her beloved had been stealing. She also refused to marry the veteran, for she knew that he had a bad heart, unlike that of her love. The girl ran away from home, and began to search for the true reason that her beloved died, for she knew that it had been... murder."

There was a pause as Yao completed his story. Then Yong Soo began talking.

"But _aniki_ ," He whined, "It wasn't even that scary!"

Mei shot him a dirty look. "I liked it! It wasn't too scary, and it was roma-ronam-ro-ro…" She scrunched up her face. "That word is hard!"

"Romantic," Kiku suggested.

Mei beamed. "Yep! It was ro-man-tic!"

Yong Soo gagged. "I hate romantic stories."

Mei let out a horrified gasp, before proceeding to bicker with Yong Soo.

As the sibling's voices filled the empty night and the fire crackled on, there was a certain sense of comfort and home, chasing away the darkness that haunts this cruel, bitter world...

* * *

 **Poll open**


	2. Chapter 1

"Everyone! Listen up!" Captain Arthur Kirkland was standing in the middle of the room with a case file in his hands.

"Dude, is it a new case?" Jones asked excitedly, shooting up from his desk.

The young blue-eyed blond was the newest member of the squad, and quite an eager fellow. However, his calmer partner, Bonnefoy, managed to balance him out.

"Oh, mon cher, do relax. I believe that Kirkland will explain it to us in a moment."

Captain Kirkland scowled. "Yes, listen to the frog. Just this once. Anyways, as I was saying, we have a new case."

Jones cheered, and received a swift kick in the shin from Wang, a petite but fierce Chinese man. Jones yelped in pain, and quieted down.

"The new case, which I will explain to you if you would let me talk-" Captain Kirkland shot Jones a piercing glare. "Sounds like a classic. A gas leak occurred in the home of a 35 year old man. At the time, he was home with his seven year old son. While the man survived, his son did not."

"Okay, so the gas pipes suck," Wang grumbled, "Tell the man to file a lawsuit or something. I thought this was going to be interesting, Opium."

Captain Kirkland scowled. "But that's not all. Two years ago, another gas leak occurred, when the man was home alone. The pipe was revealed to have been corroded."

"Still the gas pipe's fault…"

"The wife was suspicious that such a thing would happen twice, the second time with the son at home, so she called the police."

Braginsky, a man who could only be described as a gentle giant, frowned. "She thinks that her husband killed his own son? Oh dear, how terrible."

"The thing is," Captain Kirkland said, "The child might not actually be the man's son."

Wang groaned. "You're right. This is a classic. Husband thinks wife cheated on him, suspects that son isn't really his son, is pissed off, and kills some people. All we need to do is get some evidence."

Captain Kirkland nodded. "Right. Wang, Braginsky, go check out the gas pipes. See if any of the damage was intentional. Bonnefoy, Jones, go talk to the man and his wife. Hopefully we can get this done before teatime."

* * *

 **Poll open**


	3. Chapter 2

_December 20, 2017_

 _New York City, New York_

 _Front of NYPD headquarters_

Wang and Braginsky stepped outside, the bitter winter stinging their cheeks. As the duo proceeded to Wang's car in order to get to the home, Wang's phone rang. Looking irritated, the Chinese man took it out of his pocket. As soon as he saw the caller ID, he groaned.

"Li Xiang got into trouble again?" He asked as he picked up the phone, not even sounding surprised.

There was a low murmur from the phone, the words lost to Braginsky.

"What do you mean he blew up the girl's bathroom?" Wang demanded.

Another low murmur.

" _Aiya_ , look, I know he's a little jerk, but you can't sue!"

Murmur, murmur, murmur.

"Oh, thank you so much. That is very understanding of you."

More murmurs. It was really taking a long time.

"Yes, I know he's expelled. I'll go pick him up right now. If you want, I can volunteer my services to fixing the bathroom-"

Wang was cut off by the person on the other end of the line saying something.

"Really? Well, again, thank you for being so understanding. I'll make sure Li Xiang writes an apology note. Anyways, what can I do as compensation?"

Braginsky pouted. He wanted to have his Yao-yao's attention. Li Xiang really was a little jerk.

"Yes, goodbye. I can't thank you enough."

The call ended, and Wang stuffed his phone back into his pocket, an extremely furious expression developing on his face.

"Li Xiang got into trouble again. Blew up the girl's bathroom. Honestly, I don't know what to do with that child. The principal said that they wouldn't sue because I worked for the public good as a policeman, but Li Xiang was still expelled. I need to go pick him up."

Braginsky frowned. "But Yao-yao! I'm no good with mechanical stuff."

"Call up Beilschmidt." Wang smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry about this. Can you explain to the Captain if he asks?"

Braginsky nodded, still feeling a little down. Wang's expression softened.

"How about this?" Wang asked, gently touching Braginsky's arm. "We can have dinner at my place, after you finished checking out the gas pipes."

Braginsky's expression lit up. 'Oh, yay! Is little Hyung Soo going to be home?"

Wang smiled. "Yep. The college's orchestra is going to perform in this area, and he said that he and Yong Soo would drop by."

Braginsky beamed, enveloping Wang into a crushing hug. "Yay! I'm so happy!"

Wang scowled, but let Braginsky hug him. " _Aiya,_ Braginsky, both of us need to hurry."

Reluctantly, Braginsky released Wang. Giving his partner one last smile, the Chinese man got into his car and drove off, joining the crowd of so many cars, and slowly vanished from sight.

* * *

 **Poll open**


	4. Chapter 3

_December 20, 2017_

 _New York City, New York_

 _High School of Economics & Finance_

Wang had no clue what to do with Li Xiang. He himself had not been this rebellious at 17. Instead, he had been thinking about his future and taking care of his little siblings. For that matter, when Wang was 17, Li Xiang had been a sweet little six year old. What had happened?

Maybe his transition into puberty had been a little rough. At that time, the family had been going through shaky times. Maybe Wang hadn't paid enough attention to his little brother, what with _him_ and all.

Miserably, Wang parked his car into the parking lot, preparing to face the principal. It ha been incredibly generous of the principal not to sue. If the school had sued, Wang wouldn't know what to do. He still had to pay the college fees of the twins, Cheng, and Mei. Of course, there was always their father, but that was a last-resort thing. All of the siblings had scholarships anyways.

Sighing, Wang got out of his car. It had begun to snow, the tiny white crystals dancing a magnificent dance before falling to the ground and fading into the monochrome. It was like a human life. It would live for a period time, but in the end, too many were meaningless in the great span of everything.

He trudged through the snow towards the glass doors, an American flag proudly displayed out front. This was the seventh school Li Xiang had gone through. His first time he had been expelled was when he set off fireworks in the janitor's closet sometime in March. Back then, they had still lived in San Diego. Then, the next year, Wang had gotten a job at the NYPD and the siblings had moved.

Of course, it was not all for Wang's job. Part of it was to escape from the painful memories that San Diego held…

Wang opened the door to the principal's office. Li Xiang was sitting inside, dressed in his usual punk outfit. The principal, Boudicca Kirkland, was a strict but kind lady. Coincidentally, she was also the mother of the Captain.

Upon seeing Wang, she smiled. "Officer Wang! How nice of you to come. I was just talking to Li Xiang about his life choices."

Li Xiang rolled his eyes. "It was, like, totally boring."

Wang scowled at Li Xiang. " _Aiya!_ Can't you be more respectful?"

"What, like _Kiku_?" Li Xiang asked with a cruel sneer.

Wang flinched.

As he tried to figure out how to reply to Li Xiang's unusually savage remark, the door opened, and Cheng stepped in. The 19 year old looked cold, a light red dusting his cheek. However, his calm manner was still in place.

Cheng looked at Li Xiang disapprovingly. "Li Xiang, be good. You know _ge-ge_ is busy."

Li Xiang tossed his head defiantly. "Like, whatever."

Sighing, Change rubbed his head, knocking his glasses askew. Turning to his elder brother, he gave an explanation.

"Captain Kirkland called me. He said that Officer Braginsky told him that Li Xiang had gotten into trouble again, and that you should get to work."

Wang frowned. "Are you sure you guys are okay here?"

Cheng nodded reassuringly, gently patting his elder brother on the shoulder. " _Ge-ge_ , we'll be fine. Li Xiang is nearly a grown man, and I am a grown man. There's no need to worry about us, things will be okay."

Wang sighed. "Very well then…" He turned to the Principal with an apologetic expression. "Ma'am…"

Principal Kirkland gave him a warm smile. "It's perfectly alright. Tell my son his mother loves him, and that he's a heartless jerk."

Wang chuckled. Giving Cheng a warm hug, he stepped towards Li Xiang. However, something stopped him. Maybe it was the teen's expression, or the cruel words that had been spoken. Nonetheless, it felt like the distance between the two were unbridgeable.

Not trusting himself to speak, Wang merely nodded at his younger brother, before stepping out of the Principal's office and running towards his car, eager to get away to something he could solve.

* * *

 **Poll open**


End file.
